Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a crucial meeting with home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to firm up strategies for the financial sector in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.

With the countrywide lockdown set to continue for two more weeks, banks have urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to extend the three-month moratorium on loans by another three months beyond May 31.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) believe the industry will bounce back in no time as they see demand for microcredit rising soon because of emergency loan requirements of their customers to restart businesses.

The revenue situation will only get worse next month as the lockdown in the whole of April would be reflected in collections in May, said Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.

The government is considering a raft of relief measures, including setting up a Rs one lakh crore fund to expedite clearances of dues owed to MSMEs, guarantee on the enhanced limit of loans (up to 20%) and a mechanism to help them pay salaries to their employees.

At least 13 states hike VAT on petrol/diesel since mid-March, many make liquor costlier with new imposts.

Companies need to seek permission from the local administration – the office of the district magistrate – by submitting a host of information. Apart from the process being tedious and time-consuming, the final decision rests at DM's discretion.

Diesel prices in Delhi went up to Rs 69.39 per litre on Tuesday, a surge of Rs 7.10 per litres, as the state government increased the value added tax (VAT) on diesel from 17% to 30%.

The section can attract a fine of Rs 1,000 or imprisonment up to six months.

Following the devastating flood in 2018, the state had collected a flood cess which had fetched Rs 308.68 crore to the state exchequer.

Grappling with low revenues following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown, the UP government hiked the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel and increased the excise duty on liquor.

The issue faced by migrant workers took the centre stage as labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar met the representatives of 12 central trade unions (CTUs).

"It is the time to review the policy of cross subsidisation of power as this plays a part in making our industries non-competitive,” former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said at an online panel discussion on the power sector.

As the lockdown in China was lifted from the beginning of April 2020 onwards, spinners there have been scaling up operations.

Born in Ait Lahcene, near the Kabylie capital of Tizi Ouzou, then part of French Algeria, he studied to be a geologist, but his life took a turn in 1973 when he was called up as a last-minute replacement on the radio to sing the Berber lullaby 'A Vava Inouva.'

Several of the works honored in the arts explored race in American culture, including the music winner, Anthony Davis’ opera The Central Park Five. It tells of the wrongful conviction of five black and Latino teenagers for the 1989 assault on a white female jogger in Central Park. Five adult singers depicted the group as boys and men in Davis’ opera

The Italian baroque master’s 'Supper at Emmaus' is usually exhibited at London's National Gallery but, with that shut, Stanhope’s giant interpretation is now on show in Ladywell, southeast London

Clown Me In co-founder Sabine Choucair discusses the group’s new online workshop series, each Friday, ‘Happy Half-Hour’

With the entertainment industry shut down by the virus, President Emmanuel Macron pledged to extend aid for out-of-work actors and performers until next year, and to set up a fund to help the paralysed film industry

'Organised crime has many faces. The trafficking of cultural goods is one of them. It is not a glamorous business run by flamboyant gentlemen forgers, but by international criminal networks'

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed 'architect of rock ‘n’ roll' whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87

The Volvo XC90 SUV presented this week is the first production car that in combination with Uber’s self-driving system is capable of fully driving itself.

The Kona Electric is lightning quick from any speed to any speed, because the massive 395Nm of torque is delivered instantly by the electric motor, unlike a petrol/diesel vehicle where the engine needs to reach a particular RPM to deliver similar power

Electric truck by ABB showcased in Swiss capital, Bern.

The Indian passenger vehicle (PV) market is going through its worst phase in almost a decade, but Rajesh Goel, senior vice-president & director, Sales & Marketing, Honda Cars India, believes that as the festive season approaches, the market should revive.

Honda Cars implements new corporate identity for its dealer network.

This sporty full-size SUV carries a lot of design elements from conventional Audi SUVs, including an expressive sill area and the light grey Singleframe grille.

Make no mistake, it still has a brake pedal, but in regular driving conditions you might not need to use it

The Kona Electric, the world’s first electric compact SUV, was launched in India last week. Priced Rs 25.3 lakh, it’s available for sale in 11 cities.

Our next EV will be developed on the dedicated Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), and that car will be launched globally in early 2021. That platform will be used for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs.

Guidance for year has been cautious; FY20/21e EPS up 1/0.4%; valuations are fair; ‘Neutral’ maintained

Also launches connected car app myAudi Connect.

We drive from Guwahati in Assam to Pasighat, the oldest town of Arunachal.

While EVs are cost-competitive in the long run, by 2025 they are also expected to be cost-effective in terms of upfront cost, vis-a-vis petrol/diesel vehicles.

The all-new i10 will receive its public world premiere, alongside a special version of the model

For instance, German automaker Volkswagen, which has had a reasonable success with the Polo hatchback, arrived late to the party in the Indian compact sedan segment (with the Ameo) and still doesn’t have a sub-4 metre SUV.

Sets a new record for ‘highest fuel efficiency on a motorcycle’ at 76.4kpl

One of the reasons is bunching together of several regulatory changes announced by the government in a very short span of time without realising their full implication, a classic case of ‘reform for reform’s sake’.

On the government’s part, these include NEMMP (National Electric Mobility Mission Plan) and FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles).

During the 1950s and 1960s, Formula racing lost more drivers than the next three decades. Instead, in the 1980s, accident-related deaths were four, which is still higher than the last three decades of Formula racing.

If your idea of a car is minimal price per square feet of cabin space (and added flexibility), the Triber is hard to beat. Else, there is a lot to scout for in the market

The Moto G5 Plus launches tomorrow, reskindling the budget wars in India. For budget buyers, there are actually quite a few options coming up soon, including the three new smartphones from Nokia. Here, take a look.

The European Students Union has outlined a feature in the Policy Document for 2019. It has urged the Governments and Universities to do better and provide great support to the international students.The institutions of higher educationThere are many…

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is a big upgrade from its predecessor with a 48MP camera and a powerful mid-range chipset tuned for gaming, but is it best mid-range phone to buy right now? Watch our review to find out.

We got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy A70 and heres what we thought of it.

We got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy A80 and heres what we thought of it.

How well do you know your SEO? DMN breaks down top trends with Pat Reinhart, Conductor

Austin Canoe and Kayak is in the business of adventure -- and they're using UGC to tell their brand story

There are reasons to think gated content might be problematic under GDPR